A Chaotic World 289 The Four Engravings

Lu Tianzi let out a subconscious frown when he saw the scene ahead.
This chamber looked just like the earlier one with the blue orb, only that there was no talon statue in the middle. Instead, four pillars extended out from the floor, reaching all the way to the ceiling.
The elders of the Healer Circle, Wuye Mingxuan, Xiquan Chong, and Jueshe Tingli, all of them were gathered in the centre of the chamber.
But Lu Tianzi could not care less about them.
The thing that made Lu Tianzi frown was that apart from them, there were actually others who had joined the group.
Many of these were people whom Lu Tianzi had left behind after passing the green mist obstacle at the very start, but now they actually reached here ahead of them?
At this point, Lu Tianzi realised that they must have been really unlucky all along.
Back then after clearing the green mist obstacle, there were at least hundreds of different paths to choose from. They must have ended up chosing a path that was far from ideal, leading them on a long route.
It was only after passing the test of the blue orb that he was led back to this path.
That was the only logical explanation Lu Tianzi could come up with. Otherwise, it simply made no sense for these people to have already caught up with them.
But in that case, why was Beiwei Jinguo led on a different path?
Was there more than one correct path?
"My father is talking to you, why aren't you responding? Are you deaf or something?" Xiquan Chong's questioning tone broke Lu Tianzi out of his daze.
Lu Tianzi glanced over at him.
Xiquan Chong was standing tall with his chest pushed out, not flinching even after making eye contact with the Origin Core realm Lu Tianzi.
With the elders of the Healer Circle around, he felt absolutely no fear whatsoever!
Before Lu Tianzi could say anything, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind Xiquan Chong.
"Isn't that enough?"
Seeing that someone actually dared to speak up for Lu Tianzi, Xiquan Chong immediately felt rage welling up within him.
He turned around in rage, all ready to berate the other party. "Mind your own b-"
When Xiquan Chong realised who the voice originated from, the words that he had wanted to say ended up stuck in his throat.
That was because the one who spoke was none other than Wuye Mingxuan, someone who had already proven that he was a bona fide Overlord powerhouse!
Everyone present was surprised.
Since Lu Tianzi had offended Elder Xiquan, they had expected him to have a tough life ahead.
But who knew that Wuye Mingxuan would actually speak up for him at this juncture?
"Sir Wuye is right, that's enough," Elder Xiquan immediately chimed in, causing Xiquan Chong to be speechless.
His father was the one who had started taunting the other party, and he only added on after that.
So why was his father making it seem like he was the one at fault here?
"From what I understand, Elder Ximo was the one who made a mistake regarding their cultivation levels. That doesn't seem to be their fault," Wuye Mingxuan said to Elder Xiquan.

Elder Xiquan might have agreed with him, but Wuye Mingxuan was no fool.
He could clearly tell that Elder Xiquan still felt a sense of animosity towards Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.
"Sir Wuye's words make sense," Elder Xiquan nodded. "Chong'er, don't bother them anymore."
"Yes, Father," Xiquan Chong answered indignantly before shooting another glare at Lu Tianzi. "Since Sir Wuye has already spoken, I will let you off this time. Watch yourselves."
Lu Tianzi ignored him, but looked at Wuye Mingxuan in astonishment.
Just like the others, he never expected Wuye Mingxuan to speak up for him.
He might not have really needed help from Wuye Mingxuan, but this saved him quite a bit of effort, and Lu Tianzi could not help but feel slightly thankful.
"Don't misunderstand, I simply do not wish to see any conflicts in this place that is already fraught with danger," Wuye Mingxuan spoke without looking over.
Lu Tianzi still gave a slight nod in gratitude.
Even though Wuye Mingxuan was not physically looking at him, Lu Tianzi was sure that Wuye Mingxuan would be able to sense his movements perfectly.
This Wuye Mingxuan might actually be quite a reasonable person after all…
"Sir Tianzi, it's good to see that you are fine. But is it just the two of you?" Elder Ximo came over and asked hesitantly.
"I separated from Brother Jinguo earlier," Lu Tianzi answered. "He chose to take another path, believing that it is more suited for him."
"So that's the case. Since he chose to take another path, then we can only hope for the best for him," Elder Ximo sighed. "Perhaps that is for the better too. After all, the obstacle here is probably impossible for him."
"Oh? What is the obstacle here?" Lu Tianzi asked.
"It would probably be easier for you to take a look yourselves," Elder Ximo led them over to the centre of the chamber, where everyone was gathered.
When he arrived near the centre of the chamber, Lu Tianzi could finally see that there were engravings on the four pillars.
Each of the four pillars was engraved with a picture of an ancient beast.
These engravings looked rough, and appeared to be more like simple depictions of the ancient beasts. Yet when Lu Tianzi cast his gaze upon these simple engravings, he could not help but feel a certain sense of awe, almost as though he was looking at the real thing.
Together, they made up the Four Symbols – the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North.
Lu Tianzi could not help but recall the statues of the Four Symbols that he had seen earlier.
To think that these ancient beasts would reappear in the depths of the ancient tomb, perhaps the silencing formation outside was not set up by the Healer Circle after all.
Just like how the statues were parts of a silencing formation, there was probably more to these engravings than met the eye as well.
"I would suggest that Sir Tianzi make sure you are in your peak condition before probing the engravings," Elder Ximo advised. "As for Lady Qianxue, perhaps it would be best not to try at all."
"Is that so?" Lu Tianzi took a quick glance at Nanlan Qianxue before turning back to Elder Ximo. "Thank you for the kind advice, Elder Ximo."
"Sir Tianzi can take your time to get prepared then," Elder Ximo smiled. "I will go carry on with my own prepartions."
With that, Elder Ximo went over to sit down beside the other elders from the Healer Circle.
It was at this moment that Lu Tianzi realised everyone present was either standing in front of an engraving, or seated in meditation. Not only that, but many of them had pale looks on their faces, as though they had overexerted themselves somehow.
"Wait for a while and don't do anything for now," Lu Tianzi said with a serious tone. "Let me check it out first."
"Okay," Nanlan Qianxue nodded.
Lu Tianzi turned his attention towards the first pillar, which was engraved with the Vermillion Bird.
The energy flow within was similar to the talon statue from before.
Energy flowed up into the pillar from the formation array underneath, with the majority of it concentrated around the engraving.
Understanding that there was more to it than met the eye, Lu Tianzi sent his perception into the engraving without hesitation.
Right as his perception connected with the engraving, Lu Tianzi felt a sudden pulse of pain in his head. It felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and his vision blacked out for an instant.
When his vision returned, he was already standing in the middle of a desert, the blazing sun shining down from above.
Another virtual world?
Lu Tianzi looked around him, only to see that the desert was completely devoid of life. Not even a single wild shrub or cactus could be seen.
While he was still wondering what he should do next, the loud screech of a bird drew his attention upwards.
By now, Lu Tianzi could already sort of guess what would happen next.
Just as he had expected, a Vermilion Bird was currently descending from the sky, its eyes locked right onto him. Even though Lu Tianzi had already expected to see this, he could not help but let out a deep frown when faced with the sight of a true Vermilion Bird.
This was a true ancient beast!
Not even the powerful primal beasts of this world could compare to it in terms of strength!
Lu Tianzi took a quick glance at the spatial ring on his finger and felt the corner of his lips twitch.
Just like the previous time, he could not establish a connection to the contents of his spatial ring at all.
From the looks of it, he might have no choice but to challenge the Vermilion Bird without his weapons!
In just a few moments, the Vermilion Bird was already almost upon Lu Tianzi, its claws reaching out towards him.
Damn it!
Lu Tianzi cursed inwardly before driving his origin core to the limit, channelling his Slaughter Essence energy into his fists.
An illusory vortex shimmered into existence behind his back as Lu Tianzi punched out with all his might, smashing straight towards the claws of the Vermilion Bird.
The Vermilion Bird was far larger than he was, its wingspan almost a hundred metres wide. The momentum from such a huge beast diving from the sky was already terrifying enough, not to mention that it was even a powerful ancient beast to begin with.
Against such an entity, Lu Tianzi's punch appeared far too insignificant in comparison.
Bang-!
His fist connected with the claws of the Vermilion Bird, and the impact sent Lu Tianzi flying a good few metres before landing in the sand. His inner world was sent into a state of chaotic turmoil, but Lu Tianzi still managed to scramble to his feet, getting ready for the next round.
On the other hand, the Vermilion Bird seemed to be completely unaffected from the collision. It flew back up into the sky, making one round before diving back down towards Lu Tianzi.
Lu Tianzi gritted his teeth, bracing himself from the impact. But at the same time, he could not help but feel slightly bewildered.
It might be strong, but the impact earlier did not seem to be the might of an ancient beast?
Lu Tianzi understood his strength well.
His foundation was incomparably strong, and he even had the support of two different cultivation systems. This made it relatively easy for him to jump ranks to fight opponents with a higher cultivation level.
However, there was still a limit to this.
For example, as a First Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, there was simply no way that he could ever fight an opponent like Wuye Mingxuan who was at the Overlord realm.
And ancient beasts were definitely no weaker than Overlord realm martial artists.
By all rights, he should never have been able to stand up against the Vermilion Bird. Even blocking a single attack should have been impossible.
Yet he still managed to block the Vermilion Bird earlier!
The only explanation had to be that this Vermilion Bird before him was actually much weaker than the original.
Or perhaps it had been deliberalely designed to be weaker so as to make it possible for challengers to pass this test?
No matter what was the case, it did not matter much.
Even if this Vermilion Bird was weaker than the original, it was still too much for the current Lu Tianzi to handle.
Lu Tianzi sighed.
Now he understood why everyone in the chamber had pale looks on their faces.
Most likely, they had all met with this powerful opponent as well, and ended up being completely crushed.
That being the case, he could only take solace in the fact that this was just a virtual world, and he would not truly die from this.
But still, he refused to go down without a fight.
Lu Tianzi drove the Spiritual Essence in his inner world and activated the beastial bloodline in his body, planning to face the Vermilion Bird with his full strength.
Since this was a virtual world, there was no longer a need to be concerned about either exposing his Spiritual Essence system or the backlash from the beastial bloodline activation!
He summoned forth a power far beyond what he had ever experienced, and a threatening feral aura spread out in all directions.
Lu Tianzi channelled all of his strength into his fist, bracing himself for impact against the approaching Vermilion Bird.
Yet when he looked up towards the Vermilion Bird, he was greeted with a rather unusual sight.
Unlike before, the Vermilion Bird had started flapping its wings hard, rapidly slowing its descent. In fact, there even seemed to be a strange look in its eyes.
This was a look that had definitely not been present earlier…
This was a look of fear!

Chapter end

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